Column brace and clamp assembly



April 9, 1963 B. RUTH 3,

COLUMN BRACE AND CLAMP ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. BYRON Rum BY 2 Z Y ATTY.

April 9, 1963 B. RUTH 3,084,964

COLUMN BRACE AND CLAMP ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. BYRON RUTH 3,084,964 (IGLUMN BRAQE AND (ILAMP ASSEMBLY ByronRuth, Chicago, lll., assignor to Symons Mfg. Company, a corporation ofDelaware Filed Jan. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 84,623 1 Claim. (Cl. 2l'7-53.5)

The improved brace and clamp assembly comprising the present inventionis designed for use primarily in connection with the reinforcement ofthe shoring which is employed for supporting concrete slabs, as forexample, the floor and ceiling slabs that are associated with theconcrete form installation of a building construction. The invention,however, is capable of other uses and brace and clamp assembliesconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present inventionmay, if desired and with or without modification, be employed inconnection with the reinforcing of scaffolding of the type which is usedin connection with large scale painting operations, sand blasting ofbuildings, or building maintenance and repair. In short, the presentinvention will be found useful in many situations where an efiective andeasily applied column clamp and brace assembly is required.Irrespective, however, of the particular use to which the presentinvention may be applied, the essential features thereof are at alltimes preserved.

In the erection of buildings involving relatively massive and expansiveconcrete floor and ceiling slabs, the form panels over which the wetconcrete is poured and which serve temporarily to support the hardenedconcrete slabs, are supported at their ends upon longitudinallyextending stringers, and these, in turn, are supported upon suitableshoring. In many instances, the shoring which is employed is in the formof a plurality of vertical steel columns or shores which, during theirinitial installation at least, must be maintained in reasonably accuratevertical position to facilitate application thereto of the stringers andpanels. The present invention contemplates the provision of a novelbrace and clamp assembly in the form of a column clamp which may bequickly and easily applied to a pro-positioned vertical column or shoreat any desired elevation therealong, together with a cooperating bracebar one end of which is designed for cooperation with the clamp in sucha manner that, when the parts are assembled upon each other and upon thecolumn and then are locked in their respective operative positions,there is little likelihood of the parts becoming loosened or separatedor of slippage of the clamp upon the column.

The provision of a column brace and clamp assembly of the characterbriefly outlined above being among the principal objects of theinvention, it is a further object to provide such a brace and clampassembly which is applicable to the associated shore or other column insuch a manner that after the clamp of the assembly has been applied tothe column and the adjacent end of the brace bar has been applied to theclamp, the two parts (clamp and brace bar) may be preliminarily lockedtogether against separation with the clamp being loosely slidablevertically upon the column so that it may he slid to the desiredelevational position on the column, after which pressure may be appliedto the clamp by the simple expedient of manipulating an associatedclamping lever to draw the clamp fast around the column and, at the sametime, bind the brace bar in a fixed position with respect to the clampso that such powerful frictional forces will be exerted upon the columnas to prevent further sliding movement of the clamp on the column.

Briefly, in carrying out the abovementioned objects, the inventioncontemplates the provision of a strap-type C- clamp assembly havingcooperating jaws adapted to straddle the column upon which the clamp isto be mounted, together with radially disposed ears which are lhd ifih iPatented Apr. 9, 1963 at the distal or free ends of the jaws and which,when drawn together, serve to constrict the clamp about the cylindricalcolumn. Novel means are provided for drawing the radially disposed earstogether to constrict the clamp about the column and this means isdevoid of threaded parts which frequently are employed for this purposein connection with conventional C-clamps so that the in convenienceoffered by the necessity of nut and bolt orientation, and the difiicultyof finding initial threaded engagement between the parts, is completelyconstricting pressure by the simple expedient of moving the connectionto its inoperative position, whereupon the inherent resiliency of thejaws will cause the ears to move apart.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brace and clamp assemblywhich is applicable to and removable f-rom the shore or other column towhich it is to be applied without the use of a wrench or other tool.

The provision of a brace and clamp'lassembly which is extremely simplein its construction; one which consists of a minimum number of partsand, therefore, is unlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged anddurable and, therefore, will Withstand rough useage; one in which theprincipal parts thereof are in the form of metal stampings and,therefore, may be manufactured at a low cost; one which requires nospecial machining operations in the manufacture thereof, thereby furthercontributing toward economy of manufacture; one which is compact andconsumes but little space on the shore or other column with which it isassociated; and one which otherwise is well adapted to perform theservices required of it, are further desirable features which have beenborne in mind in the production and development of the presentinvention.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novelconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts shown in theaccompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of thisspecification.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a concrete form installationfora building slab, such view showing a series of shores to which braceand clamp assemblies embodying the present invention have beenoperatively applied; 1

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section view taken substantially along the line2-2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating one of the improved brace and clampassemblies;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the clamping pressure onthe clamp portion of the assembly relieved or released;

FIG. 4 is a view similarto FIG. 3 but showing the clamp portion of theassembly completely released;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an opposite side elevational view of the assembly shown inFIG. 5; I

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the brace and clamp assemblyof FIGS. 2 to 6, inclusive; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of clamp capable ofbeing employed in connection with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1,there has been disclosed in this view a typical concrete forminstallation for supporting one of the horizontal concrete floor orceiling slabs (not shown) for a building to be erected. The installationincludes a plurality of spaced apart vertically disposed shores orcolumns 10, the upper ends of which serve to support thereon a series ofelongated stringers 12 which in turn serve to support the opposite endsof a plurality of form panel units 14, the latter being arranged incontiguity so that the upper panel facings thereof define asubstantially continuous unbroken slab-supporting surface upon which thewet concrete for the slab is adapted to be poured. The details of theshores 10, the stringers 12, the panel units 14 have not been disclosedherein since they form no part of the present invention and thedisclosure of FIG. 1 is somewhat schematic in its representation. Thepresent invention is concerned primarily with the cross bracing of theform installation and this has been designated in its entirety by thereference numeral 16, and will now be more fully described in detail andsubsequently claimed.

The cross-bracing 16 involves in its general organization a series ofclamp assemblies 20* and a series of cooperating brace bars 22. Eachclamp assembly 20' constitutes an operative connection whereby theadjacent end of the associated brace bar 22 may be attached to one ,ofthe shores It) at any selected elevation therealong. The disposition ofthe cross-bracing 16 with respect to the shores 16 may vary widely but,in the particular environment selected herein for illustrative purposes,certain of the brace bars 22 extend horizontally between adjacent shores10, while other brace bars are inclined. In one instance, two of theinclined brace bars cross each other medially of their ends while athird horizontally disposed brace bar passes through the point ofintersection of the inclined bars and the'three brace bars are securedtogether by a nut and bolt assembly 24. Irrespective, however, of thespecific arrangement of the cross-bracings 16, the essential features ofthe present invention are at all times preserved.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 7 inclusive, and in particu lar to FIG. 7,the clamp assembly 20 consists of two principal parts, namely, a twopart sectional C-clamp proper 36" and a clamp-constricting pin assembly32. The C-clamp proper is comprised of two sections 34 and 36,respectively, having interlocking, integrally formed, staggeredpintle-confining tubular [fingers 38 and 40. The latter are maintainedin their aligned and staggered relationship by means of a pintle pin 42.The two sections 34 and 36 are thus capable of relative swingingmovement toward and away from each other about the longitudinal axis ofthe pintle pin. The clamp section 34 is, in the main, semi-cylindricalin horizontal cross section and the distal end region thereof is turnedradially outwardly as at 44 to provide a clamping ear 4 6. The clampingear 46 has formed centrally therein an elongated slot 48 in the form ofa small hole 50 from which there extends laterally a pair of sidenotches 52. The other section 36 of the C-clamp proper is similar inconfiguration to the section 34 and the radially disposed ear 66 thereofis provided with a central hole 68 therethrough in substantial axialalignment with the central enlargement or hole 50 of the slot 48.

The clamping pin assembly 32 is comprised of three parts, namely, aclamping pin 70, a cam lever 72 and a cross pin 74. The pin 70 is in theform of a length of rod stock and is slotted as at 73 at one end thereofto receive therebetween the operating cam portion of the cam lever 72, apivot pin 75 being provided for maintaining the cam lever in the slotand also in pivotally connected relation with the pin '70. A transversebore 76 extends through the pin 70 adjacent to the other end thereof andis adapted to receive therein the cross pin '74. The cam lever 72 is inthe form of a flat metal stamping of heavy gauge stock and has anelongated handle portion 80 and an enlarged cam body portion 82. Thelatter presents a curved cam edge 84 and a straight relief edge 86.

The brace bar 22 which is associated with the clamp assembly 26 of FIGS.2 to 7, inclusive, is in the form of an elongated strip of flat metalstock, the opposite end regions of which are provided with elongatedslots 90 which are substantially identical in size and shape to the slot48 in the ear 46 and, therefore, require no further description. Theends of the brace bar are rounded as at 92 for clearance purposes aswill be described presently.

In order to apply the brace and clamp assembly of the present inventionto a shore or column 10, such as has been illustrated in FIG. 1, the twosections 34 and 36 of the C-clamp proper 30 are swung about the axis ofthe pintle pin 42 until the jaws defined thereby are open to asufficient extent that the clamp proper may be caused to straddle theparticular shore or other column 10 to which the assembly is to beapplied. The jaws are then closed upon the column until the column isengaged thereby and the ears 46 and 66 extend in substantialparallelism. Thereafter the clamping pin 70' is passed endwise throughthe hole 68 in the ear 66 to such an extent that its extreme endprojects into the space existing between the two ears 46 and 66, but nottosuch an extent that the clamping pin enters the central hole 50 of theelongated slot 48. One end of the brace bar. 22 is then brought intoposition so that its slot 90 is aligned with the end of the clamping pin70, after which the clamping pin is moved further in an axial directionso that it passes through the slot 90 and through the hole 56. It shouldbe stated here that the cross pin 74 and the cam lever 72, arepreviously assembled upon the pin 76 so that it is necessary to orientthe brace bar 22, the clamping pin 70 and the clamp assembly 30 so thatthe cross pin 74 and the two slots 48 and 90 are in axial alignment andregister, while preserving the same directional relationships portrayedin FIG. 7 to the end the clamping pin may ultimately be pushed throughthe enlarged central portions of the slots 90 and 48 until the cross pin74 lies outside of the two ears 46 and 66.

With the parts in the position just described, the handle portion of thecam lever 72 may be swung in either direction to a vertical positionabout the axis of the clamping pin 70. Preferably it is swung upwardlyto the position shown in FIG. 3, thus rotating theclamping pin 70through an angle of to move the cross pin 74 out of register with theends or radial notches 52 of the elongated slot 48. The parts are thenlocked against separation.

In order to close the two ears 46 and 66 upon the intervening end of thebrace bar 22, it is merely necessary to swing the handle portion 80 ofthe cam lever 72 downwardly, whereupon the cam edge 84 will frictionallyengage the outside face (FIGS. 2 and 3) of the ear 66 and force the sametoward the ear 46 until such time as the .brace bar 22 is engaged byboth ears and is firmly clamped thereby as shown in FIG. 2. Suchmovement of the ear 66 toward the ear 46 will cause the curved clampingjaws afforded by the sections 34 and 36 firmly to grip the shore orcolumn 10' therebetween.

, Release of the assembly 20 is effected by substantial reversal of thesteps described above and, therefore, a detailed description of thisoperation is believed to be unnecessary. It is to be pointed out,however, that when the two ears 46 and 66 are in their clam-pingengagement with the brace bar 22, they are under an appreciable degreeof stress so that, during the releasing operations, as, soon as thepressure of the cam edge 84 is released,

the ear 46 will move away from the car 66 and engage may he slid eitherupwardly or downwardly along the shore or column to any desiredelevation before eliecting tightening of the clamping means. Thus, animproperly installed clamp assembly, or one which requires revision asto its initial setting for any reason whatsoever, may be relocated bythe simple expedient of moving the lever handle 80 to the elevatedposition shown in FIG. 3 to loosen the parts, after which the adjustmentmay be made and the lever again restored to the position shown in FIG. 2to effect tightening of the parts in the manner previously described.

To effect final release of the adjacent end of the brace bar 22, thehandle portion 80" of the cam lever '72 is swung outwardly away from theshore to the horizontal position shown in FIG. 4 to align the cross pin74 with the notches 52 of the elongated slot 48. At this time the ear 46will be released so that it may snap to its fully released position, soto speak, after which the clamp sections 34 and 36 may be opened wideand withdrawn from the shore or column 10.

In FIG. 8 there has been disclosed a slightly modified form of clamp130, which may be employed in association with the clamping pin assembly32 and the brace bar 22, instead of the previously described clampproper 30. In this form of the invention, the clamp proper 130' remainssubstantially the same as the clamp pnoper 30 with the single exceptionthat the hinge connection 38, 42 and the two sides of the unit 134 and136, respectively, are formed as an integral resilient bond. Otherwisethe clamp proper 130 remains substantially identical with the clampproper 30 so needless repetition of description may be avoided by theapplication of similar reference characters, but of a higher order, tothe corresponding parts as between FIGS. 7 and 8.

The application of the clamp proper 130 to and its removal from thecolumn It), involves the same procedural operations as those previouslydescribed in connection with the clamp proper 30, it being understood,of course, that the resilient and yielding nature of the clamp proper130 is such that the latter may be opened up to the degree necessary topermit its initial installation around the column 10.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, onlyinsofar as the invention has been pointed out particularly in theaccompanying claim is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a column brace and clamp assembly, in combination, a split, generallycylindrical, collar-liloe band adapted to be constricted and compressedaround a column, said band having free end regions which are turnedradially outwardly to provide first and second substantially parallelspaced ears adapted when drawn toward each other to compress the bandabout the column, said first ear being formed with a hole therein, saidsecond ear having formed therein an elongated slot with an enlargedcentral portion in substantial alignment with said hole, an elongatedclamping pin projecting through said hole and the enlarged centralportion of the aforesaid slot and bridging the distance between saidears, a cross pin carried by the clamping pin exteriorly of the two earsand adjacent to the second ear, an elongated brace bar having one endthereof interposed between said ears and provided with an elongated slotwhich is substantially the same in shape and size as the slot in thesecond car and embodies an elongated central portion through which theclamping pin extends, a cam lever pivoted to said clamping pinexteriorly of the two ears and adjacent to said first ear,

said lever having a cam surf-ace operable upon swinging movement of thelever in one direction, when said cross pin is out of register with theends of the slot in said second ear, to engage the outside face of thefirst ear and, in combination with said cross pin, draw said earstogether first to compress the band about the column and thereafter toclamp said ears hard against the opposite sides of the interposed end ofthe brace bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS805,949 Facette Nov. 2-8, 1905 884,315 Carroll Apr. 7, 1908 1,110,496Kobert Sept. 15, 19 4 2,194,883 Burton Mar. 26, 1940 2,294,240 PollmanAug. 25, 1942 2,662,798 Kirkpatrick Dec. 15, 1953

